Detection of herpes simplex virus type 2 Bgl II N fragment in paraffin-embedded cervical tissue sections using nested polymerase chain reaction.

To study the presence of transforming sequence Bgl II N of HSV-2 in cervical cancer tissues, we developed the nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detecting such a sequence in paraffin-embedded cervical tissue sections. Samples derived from 46 patients with premalignant and malignant lesions were tested. The sequence was found in 20-25% of total cases tested but not observed in any of the normal healthy controls. This study also indicates that for the detection of HSV-2 Bgl II N sequence in cervical tissue, the nested PCR may be more reliable than the in situ hybridization method.